MiniMax has two frontier models: M2.5 (February 2026) and M2.7 (March 2026). The newer one isn’t always better.
Comparison
| M2.5 | M2.7 | |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 80.2% | ~78% |
| SWE-Pro | — | 56.22% |
| Speed | Slower | 100 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.15/1M | $0.30/1M |
| Self-evolving | ❌ | ✅ |
| Context | 200K | 200K |
M2.5 scores higher on SWE-bench Verified (80.2% vs ~78%) and costs half as much. M2.7 is faster, has self-evolving capability, and scores better on SWE-Pro.
When to use M2.5
- Pure coding tasks where SWE-bench score matters
- Budget is the primary concern ($0.15 vs $0.30)
- You don’t need the self-evolving feature
- High-volume batch processing
When to use M2.7
- Agentic workflows that benefit from self-evolution
- Interactive coding where speed matters (100 tok/s)
- Complex multi-step tasks
- You want the latest model
The practical answer
For most developers, M2.7 is the better default — it’s faster and the self-evolving capability helps on complex tasks. Use M2.5 when you’re optimizing for cost on high-volume workloads.
Both are available on OpenRouter and work with Aider.
Real-world test
In a Kilo Code benchmark running both models on the same 10 coding tasks:
- M2.5 completed 8/10 tasks correctly
- M2.7 completed 8/10 tasks correctly (same success rate)
- M2.7 was 40% faster on average
- M2.5 cost 50% less total
The quality difference is minimal. The speed and self-evolving features of M2.7 matter more for interactive coding. M2.5 wins for batch processing where speed doesn’t matter.
Using both with model routing
The smartest approach: use M2.5 as your cheap model and M2.7 as your premium model. Both are from MiniMax so the coding style is consistent.
# Aider with model routing
aider --model openrouter/minimax/minimax-m2.7 --weak-model openrouter/minimax/minimax-m2.5This gives you M2.7 for complex tasks and M2.5 for routine work — all under $0.30/1M average. See our model routing guide.
Related: MiniMax M2.7 Complete Guide · What is MiniMax? · MiniMax M2.7 vs Claude vs DeepSeek